Hybrid battery pack reached 130F with fan speed at 5

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Brando714, Jun 11, 2020.

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  1. Brando714

    Brando714 Member

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    So I went on a 12.5 mile drive to a store, and drove back the same distance about 15 minutes later. Battery temp kept steadily climbing up and towards the end reached 130F!! In California, it is about 90F outside and I had the AC on at a low speed and the fan speed stayed at Speed 4 even into the mid 120s but eventually sped up to Speed 5. Why doesn't it reach Speed 6 and what can I do about this abnormal battery temperature? The fan has recently been cleaned and there was a little water corrosion with Error Code P3000, P3140, P0A84 but since I sprayed DeOxyIt and cleaned it, all the error codes has gone clear.
     

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    #1 Brando714, Jun 11, 2020
  2. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    Has the HV battery ever been taken out or worked on? Has the cover ever been removed by you or a previous owner? The fan blows cooling air into the top passenger side of the battery. On the driverside of the battery, there is a plastic dam that prevents the air from just blowing out and the dam forces the air to flow downward between the individual modules. There have been instances of this 'plastic dam' not being installed after someone has the battery apart. It will result in all the cooling air just flowing across the top of the battery and then out the driverside. If no air flows between the modules then there will be no cooling. The three temp sensors are on the bottom of the battery modules. It may be worth looking into.
     
    #2 TMR-JWAP, Jun 11, 2020
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  3. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    This photo was from another members post from several months ago. If you look at the battery in the background, it has a black plastic piece circled. That is the 'dam', 'flow blocker' or whatever it's called. If you look at the battery in the foreground, you can see it does not have one. For context, this was a photo of someone swapping a battery in their car. The battery in the foreground will run very hot, unless the plastic dam from the other battery is moved to the new battery. If your's is missing this piece, it would explain your high temps

    Blocker.jpeg
     
    #3 TMR-JWAP, Jun 11, 2020
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  4. Brando714

    Brando714 Member

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    Ok thank you. I will be adding that to my next project this weekend. Not too sure on the battery every being swapped but I am sure it was either replaced or taken off once because the battery silver outmost cover, there was a red marking with I believe someone's name on it. Kind of peculiar..
     
    #4 Brando714, Jun 11, 2020
  5. Brando714

    Brando714 Member

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    Hi so I checked my battery pack and the black air blocker was present on the left side and I'm pretty sure is not supposed to be on the right side of the battery. So any other idea why the battery isn't cooling down? Like I mentioned, the has just been cleaned and is working since I hear it and Torque Pro shows speed 5 out of 6. Also, the date 6-7-19 was on my battery pack so I guess it was serviced almost a year ago but Dr. Prius scanning shows battery to be at 58% "FAIR"
     

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    #5 Brando714, Jun 11, 2020
    Last edited: Jun 11, 2020
  6. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    Apparently your battery is not original. It's a rebuilt battery installed by "Hybrid 911". It just passed it's one year birthday!!!
    Also, as part of the air flow path control, there should be long foam strips on each side of the case top. Those strips seal against the top of the modules to prevent air from just flowing down around the sides of the modules. There should also be black foam inserts on each side of the white clamp plate closest to the ecu section. The goal is to make the area on top of the modules into a fairly well sealed supply plenum, where air flow has nowhere else to go except down between the modules.

    At some point, you could reassemble everything, but leave out the duct piece by the 12v battery. Run the fan at full speed and see how much air flow you have coming out of the exit duct.
     
    #6 TMR-JWAP, Jun 12, 2020
  7. Brando714

    Brando714 Member

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    I'll take some pics of the battery case and better view of the whole battery pack so please let me know if you notice anything missing thanks
     
    #7 Brando714, Jun 12, 2020
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